Today, as part of her
nationwide listening tour, Secretary Pritzker visited the Global Center for
Medical Innovation (GCMI) in Atlanta, Ga. GCMI is an independent, non-profit
organization that works with universities, research centers, and investors to
help accelerate the commercialization of innovative medical technology.

GCMI, which opened in 2010,
houses facilities that local entrepreneurs can use to design, engineer, and
build their products, and provides access to a growing network of experts that
can help bring cutting edge ideas to market.
The secretary toured the facility with GCMI executives and CEOs from two of the
four startup businesses that reside at GCMI.

During her tour, Secretary
Pritzker learned about some of the daily on-site activities at GCMI,
including medical device design engineering and prototyping, and explored the organization’s design lab. She also
learned about the center’s rapid prototype machine, which is a 3D printer that
enables innovators, and entrepreneurs to bring their ideas from concept to reality in a matter
of hours. Typically, prototypes take days or weeks to manufacture. GCMI is able to support a relationship between
Georgia Tech and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta to develop and commercialize
new medical devices for the pediatric market. They are also
helping an Atlanta-based
entrepreneur and an inventor from Georgia Tech develop a functional prototype
to help quadriplegics GAIN greater mobility.

Secretary Pritzker also met with some of the students who are part of
GCMI’s apprentice program. This program provides opportunities to students and recent graduates from leading
engineering and medical schools around the country who participate in a range
of development activities that help bring new medical technology from the lab
to the clinic.